The glittering bulbs of the casino signs, the chirping ring of the slot machines, the thrill of a spinning roulette wheel, the land of dreams, the city of sin, Las Vegas is the epitome of the high-life. Everyone knows why Las Vegas is such a sought-after place, its central attraction, gambling. Restricted throughout much of the early 1900s, gambling made a comeback, legally, around the 1930s, leading to the rise of the glorious city of Las Vegas. In modern-day society, many states have now converted to being in support of gambling, but less have supported the practice of sports betting. Currently, over thirty-three states in the United States have legalized sports betting in one shape or form. Rising in popularity, this sports betting has been a long-debated topic among people, and governments across the nation. Gambling, in general, is a very controversial topic, and though only two states (Utah and Hawaii) have an outright ban on such, there are still heavy restrictions in many states. For instance, Nevada and Louisiana, are the only states in which gambling is legal throughout the entire state. Nevertheless, understanding why gambling is a strongly restricted practice and its potential benevolent contribution to society is essential to deciding whether or not things like sports betting should be legalized.
Why Gambling Isn’t Legalized Across the Country
The main arguments against gambling is that it creates things like political corruption, an increase in crime rates, and leads to compulsive gambling. Trends show that there are potential correlations between gambling and other illicit activities such as drug abuse, alcoholism, domestic abuse, and bankruptcy within families. The idea that gambling increases crime rates is supported by the idea that a loss of money by individuals due to gambling, will force many to turn towards a life of crime in order to rejuvenate lost funds.
Furthermore, despite being the highlight of creating more jobs for the economy, some have come to believe that in the controversial field of gambling there are high possibilities of fraud, embezzlement, and theft occurring. Also, many feel that gambling can cause lots of turmoil in families, creating a lack of trust between partners, and causing condescending feelings towards partners. Hence, many believe that gambling as a whole serves as a detriment to society. Furthermore, some argue that gambling goes against core Christian values, a religion that makes up around 70% of the United States population. Within the Bible, verse 1 Timothy 6:10, it is quoted that “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows,” and Proverbs 13:11 states that “wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” Henceforth, the Bible seemingly condemns an ardent desire for wealth along with a desire to obtain wealth in a rapid manner. As a result, it would seem as Christians who have a heavy influence in the United States are for the most part against gambling. This is because the stigma behind gambling makes it appear as a practice in which one really only participates seriously due to a strong desire to accumulate wealth, and accumulate such in a rapid fashion.
Is Gambling Really That Bad?
Nevertheless, many support the idea of gambling and seeing that 82% of Americans view it as a classic form of entertainment, it’s clear that it is an enjoyment that should be a God-given right. After all, America is the land of the free. Speaking of land of the free, did you know that George Washington, the Founding Father of almighty America was a gambling man? Yes, he was, in fact, honest George often wagered his chances at horse races (that’s sports betting by the way!) or common card games. I’m not sure about you, but George Washington seemed like a pretty sound guy, not lying about chopping down the cherry tree, defeating the British basically by himself, and being the 1st President of the Greatest Nation of all time. I would also like to note that Abraham Lincoln the 16th president of the United States was a big gambler as well. Allegedly, Honest Abe took on the practice of gambling at a very young age, and would often bet on cockfights (a form of sports betting), and later in life became very involved in table card games like poker. Arguably two of America’s most beloved presidents, such a fact just goes to show how big of a thing gambling was and how it’s not some evil practice that some might believe it to be.
Anyways, everyone knows that gambling has been around forever so why get rid of it now? In fact, gambling dates back to approximately 3000 BC in ancient Egypt, shown by the discovery of rolling dice. In ancient Rome, records of people betting on sports like gladiator fights and other events were often recorded. Through such, gambling chips were introduced, a way to bypass Roman fines for gambling by claiming only worthless chips were being bet, not an actual monetary value. Henceforth, gambling has always been a part of the world, and from my viewpoint, the world has progressed pretty well since 3000 BC. I mean just look around, we have flying machines, artificial intelligence, electricity, the internet (what a fascinating creation!), and so much more.
Why Gambling May Actually Be Beneficial To Society
Now that we have dived into why gambling is everyone’s free right and concluded that a well-developed modern society has fared pretty well despite being intertwined with a long history of gambling, let’s dive in on some of the benefits of gambling. Firstly, everyone knows how much of a temptress gambling can be, a highly addictive event, psychologists believe that this can actually be a beneficial thing. This is because psychologists claim that gambling activates what they call the “fortune-hunter,” in us, giving us an opportunity to practice self-control (like Odysseus), and also acts as a stimulant that relieves tension and stress from us. Secondly, many argue that gambling offers a multitude of economic perks, through employment opportunities, and higher tax revenue. In a direct quote from the American Gaming Association, they delineate that gambling is “vital to the states and communities where it operates, creating jobs and business opportunities for local businesses and providing direct gaming tax revenues to stimulate struggling economies and help communities grow.” The benefits of a higher revenue due to gambling is boasted in a 2010 report that saw casinos pay almost $8 billion in taxes towards the state and local governments. Such could be utilized to forerun projects for better education, economic betterment, and infrastructure. Thirdly, we all know why Las Vegas is one of the most popular destination spots in the country, its casinos. Legalization of gambling and the opening of casinos would provide not only more jobs to locals, but also exponentially shoot up tourism in the designated regions, meaning a better economy for the area affected. Thus, gambling almost seems like the frontrunner in creating an economically sound community that also has societal implications, despite what those who oppose such claim.
Texas’ Current Gambling Situation
As of 2022, despite its laws prohibiting casino gambling, Texas has a single operating casino, the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino in Eagle Pass, Texas, open only due to it being under federal jurisdiction rather than Texas’. Throughout the late 20th century and the early 21st Texas has had numerous other Native American casinos that have since been shut down. This is probably because Choctaw is paying off the Texas Government, because they know no one wants to drive out to Eagle Pass, Texas. It is pretty clear that Texas is very strict on gambling with few exceptions such as gambling in a private place, and all participants have even odds. As of right now, sports betting is not considered an exception under such rules mainly because the exception of no one economically benefiting but the winner is destroyed due to the fact that sports gambling websites subtract a fee from players. Despite several attempts to legalize such, sports gambling has been long turned down by the Texas government and has had trouble becoming a legitimate practice in the states. So if you want to participate in sports bets, you either have to drive to Louisiana or get a bookie.
For legal reasons, I do not condone the latter and will warn that it is highly illegal and could land you with a fine, jail time, or both. Nevertheless, Texans itching to get their sports betting fix to have a little hope with a report from Sports Betting lawyer Daniel Wallach who quoted Texas Representative Dan Huberty saying at a keynote speech in a gaming industry conference in Austin, that ‘I really believe there’s an opportunity here to pass sports betting in 2023. If you present it to the voters in the right way, it’s gonna pass. It will pass.” Thus, despite its strict laws and views of gambling, chances are that despite numerous prior failures, Texas could join the other thirty-three states in the legalization of sports betting.
Opinions of Jesuit Students
In an interview with Jesuit Student Aarin Jain 22’, Aarin claims that “sports betting is good because it builds character and teaches valuable life lessons. Such as how to manage addictions, and money. Also if you gamble you are more likely to win money which is the goal of life.”
In another interview with senior Weston Smith, Weston had this to say when asked if sports betting is beneficial to students at Jesuit: “We already offer economics courses, so sports betting during school is simply additional practice, and only seeks to benefit students as they head off to college and manage their own money.”
Next, being asked about gambling as a whole, Luke Hoops 22’ has this to say about the controversial practice: “Sports betting should be legal in Texas, but it shouldn’t be legal to have casinos in Texas.” Senior student Luke Hoops is most likely against the idea of casinos in Texas because there are already so many of them in Oklahoma, and all you have to do is drive an hour or two to participate in some good ol’ fashioned blackjack.
Though many Jesuit students seem to be in support of the legalization of sports betting in Texas, Senior Preston Parish actually had an opposition against the practice: “ I think it shouldn’t be legalized in Texas because they use sports as a form of entertainment to lure common people in, into traps that only benefit the house in ways that go unseen by the common better. In fact, one of my personal friends has gone down the slippery slope of the crippling gambling addiction, sports betting was just a gateway for reeling him into casino games, which sucks him away from reality, such as completing homework, and harming his overall mood.” Preston’s input offers some deep insight into how harmful sports betting can be for Jesuit students and encompasses the detrimental effects of gambling on society. All in all, the opinions of Jesuit students also offer insight into the beliefs of the common citizens of Texas, as well as their values and beliefs on the controversy of both gambling and sports betting.
Conclusion
As we can see, there are lots of ups and downs to the world of sports betting, and the practice of gambling in general. The controversial practice serves as a great form of entertainment to many and has shown evidence of being good for society in both social and economic development. But it has also been theorized as a detriment to society, and an enormous dilemma due to its addictive nature, and the social implications that come with it. Nevertheless, sports gambling has been a topic long debated between people for years, and with a potential opportunity for sports betting to be put up to a vote in the coming year of 2023, it seems that the fate of its legalization in Texas is completely up to the people of the glorious lone star state.
